Key facts
- A hardware wallet exploit resulted in the loss of approximately $116 million in Bitcoin.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $1 billion in net inflows for the week.
- Strategy, the largest institutional holder, plans to resume Bitcoin accumulation this year.
- Riot Platforms is reportedly in a 20-year agreement to supply 191 megawatts of power to an AI company, identified as Anthropic.
- Trump Media reported $190.4 million in unrealized losses across its digital assets in the second quarter.
A significant exploit targeting a hardware wallet, resulting in the loss of approximately $116 million in Bitcoin, has reignited the debate surrounding the risks and benefits of self-custody.
This security incident occurred as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a strong rebound in inflows, attracting roughly $1 billion for the week, marking their best performance since April. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that such security scares could potentially drive more investors towards ETFs as a safer alternative to self-custody, though he cautioned against assuming direct causation.
In other developments, Strategy announced plans to resume its Bitcoin accumulation strategy later this year, following a period of sales that drew scrutiny. The company, which holds over 840,000 BTC, has sold Bitcoin on four occasions since May to meet financial obligations. Strategy CEO Phong Le stated that the company has bought significantly more Bitcoin than it has sold this year.
Separately, Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms is reportedly in a substantial $9 billion deal to provide power capacity from its Texas facility to Anthropic, a leading AI company. This move highlights the growing intersection of Bitcoin mining infrastructure and the burgeoning demand for AI data centers.
Meanwhile, Trump Media is set to overhaul its digital asset treasury strategy following a substantial $238 million net loss in the second quarter, which was partly attributed to unrealized losses on its cryptocurrency holdings. The company held 9,477.16 Bitcoin as of June 30, but has since increased its holdings through the sale of Bitcoin-related securities.